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Thursday, 17 November 2011

'Snickerdoodle' has to be one of my favourite words ever. How much fun can one word be? What does it even mean? I really couldn't tell you how this word came about but it isn't related to a Snickers bar, nor is there any drawing involved. It's simply a delicious sugary cinnamon cookie – a wonderful soft cookie with crisp edge to bite into.

I was introduced to these wonders when a former colleague came over from the US a couple years ago. She baked and we scoffed our faces. Just like that.

I've made them many times since then and now have tried to mix it up a bit. I still love the original sugar and cinnamon version, but then I decided to try a chocolate version too. Adding some cocoa powder to the mix worked quite well. I even added some chocolate to the middle of some of them for a bit of added flavour and texture.

Snickerdoodles

The recipe

There are several variations of this recipe about, but this is how I like to make mine.

Method

Cream the butter and sugar until soft then add the beaten egg and vanilla paste and beat till smooth.

Mix in the remaining dry ingredients and leave in fridge for 30 minutes to chill.

Roll into balls the size of a walnut and lay out on a baking tray leaving space to spread. Leaving the mixture in the fridge allows the balls to keep shape while baking instead of spreading out too much.

Bake for approximately 12 minutes at 160°C.

Alternative methods

Roll the balls in some granulated sugar before placing on baking tray for a simple sugary and buttery cookie.

Roll the balls in a tbsp of granulated sugar and a tsp of cinnamon before placing on the baking tray. These are the original method and delicious and moorish.

I added in a heaped teaspoon of chocolate powder to about a quarter of the dough and rolled the mixture around some chocolate ganache for a nice chocolately centre for each cookie.

Thursday, 3 November 2011

After writing the below post this evening and prior to publishing, I have found out that a friend of a friend's Dad has just been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Then I find out that the long term girlfriend of a former colleague has just passed away after a long battle with cancer.

A friend of mine passed away due to cancer a year and a half ago, just before his 26th birthday.

SCREW YOU CANCER!

Everyone likes food, right? We all eat. If you do something you normally do and are able to help a good cause, then why not? And / or one of these charities could help you!

I really think it's great that there are a number of organisations promoting and helping worthy causes. I've heard about a fair few activities in recent days - some that I knew of already, and some were new to me.

British Heart Foundation

I regularly donate to the British Heart Foundation who support those affected by heart disease and are active in pioneering research. The BHF educate us on the importance of keeping our hearts healthy and provide some really great recipes for a healthy diet. I love my Heart Matters magazine, which keeps me in check and the Healthy Recipe Finder app for some really great meal options.

My Dad passed away at the early age of 46 due to heart disease nearly 9 years ago, so I find the advice from the BHF really helpful to keep myself healthy and I completely support their cause and research to improve heart health.

Breast Cancer Care

My Old Dutch supported Breast Cancer Care by painting their restaurant pink and donating £1 for every strawberry milkshake sold. What a great effort!

Eat, Drink and Support

Food is our fuel, and so it is a powerful means of fundraising. These charities, amongst others, do amazing work and they deserve all the support they can get.